Free Republic

Two new polls hold good news for Democrats in the blue-leaning swing states of Colorado and Michigan, both key to the party’s hopes of protecting their fragile Senate majority. The NBC/Marist polls released Tuesday show Democratic Sen. Mark Udall (Colo.) and Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) leading their Republican challengers, though their races remain tight. In Colorado, Udall posts his strongest lead in months against Rep. Cory Gardner (R), taking 48 percent support among registered voters to Gardner’s 41 percent support, with 10 percent undecided. The actual margin of the race is likely somewhat tighter, as nearly every survey has shown...

Ask Sen. Tom Harkin about his committee’s work this Congress and he’s ready to rattle off a key statistic. “Fourteen bills. More than any other committee in the Congress. Fourteen bills signed into law.” The retiring five-term senator might seem at first blush an unlikely candidate to break through in the most dysfunctional Congress ever. Harkin is an unabashed Midwestern liberal. But he’s also proved adept at reaching across the aisle on issues that don’t always make the front pages — such as the Workforce Investment Act reauthorization — a major overhaul heading to the president’s desk. To hear Harkin...

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave $250,000 to the super PAC supporting Sen. Lindsey Graham, (R-S.C.) in the primary battle he won by a wide margin last month, a source familiar with the donation told POLITICO. The donation is set to be revealed in financial filings made public Tuesday by the West Main Street Values PAC, the source said. The donation is the second Bloomberg has made in recent months to a Republican incumbent facing tea party unrest. Last month, filings showed that Bloomberg donated $250,000 to a super PAC supporting Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) in the rancorous...

A conservative Tennessee lawmaker running against Sen. Lamar Alexander told Newsmax TV on Monday that the incumbent is siding with the Republican Party's big-business wing in the debate over illegal immigration — and that means promoting amnesty for millions of illegal aliens. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, working in conjunction with Alexander and other Republican senators, "has determined that we need an oversupply of labor so we can suppress wages," state Rep. Joe Carr, a candidate with tea party support, told "MidPoint" host Ed Berliner. Congress is debating the president's emergency $3.7 billion request to cope with illegal immigrants who...

Ingraham compared Alexander to Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), saying Alexander "has big money support behind him... just like we had with Thad Cochran, another septuagenarian, who wanted your vote." "So old Thad got the big money to come in and Old Plaid," she continued. "Thad and Plaid. Thad and Plaid, the amnesty twins." Ingraham reiterated that Carr was "terrific on immigration" and was "way ahead of the curve on the effect that [unbridled mass immigration would have] on our infrastructure, our public schools, and STEM worker falsehoods." "You can't be returned to the Senate, term after term, when the only...

Conservative talk radio host Laura Ingraham said that pro-amnesty Republicans like Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) who voted for the Senate's amnesty bill are also to blame for the current border crisis. On Fox News Sunday, Ingraham said the message from many pro-amnesty Republicans has been, "you will be able to stay here." "Republicans are not off the hook," she said. "If John Boehner had taken this comprehensive reform off the table early on, I don't think he probably would have had as many unaccompanied minors coming here now." Ingraham emphasized that the "the general sense of that is deportation won't...

<p>Conservative radio show host Laura Ingraham said Monday she's "all in" for state Tennessee state Rep. Joe Carr (R) in his long-shot bid to unseat Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) in next month's primary.</p> <p>"I'm all in for Joe Carr. Look, he's no nonsense, he's a citizen legislator, he'll be. And he'll be someone who will actually listen to the people," Ingraham said on her radio program.</p>

We are moving the Minnesota Senate race from Safe Democrat to Democrat Favored, but readers should not make too much of the changed rating. The change reflects the broad national environment and Minnesota’s generally competitive nature. A national anti-President Barack Obama wave certainly could threaten incumbent Democratic Sen. Al Franken, and Franken’s 2008 victory — in a good political environment for Democrats — was razor-close. The new rating says little about Republican challenger Mike McFadden’s candidacy, other than the fact that the wealthy businessman appears to have considerable personal resources that he can sink into the race if he wishes....

Ace political analyst Michael Barone scans the political landscape and thinks that the fallout from the border crisis will be severe and will hit Democrats especially hard. The picture of thousands of illegal youngsters streaming over the border is disquieting and seems likely to hurt the president's standing with voters--even despite his refusal to submit to a “photo-op” on the border. Democrats are trying to blame the situation on House Republicans' refusal to pass comprehensive immigration legislation. That seems pretty lame: There's nothing in the bill the Senate passed in June 2013 that addressed this particular situation. As this article...

Whereas, it is the responsibility and right of this Executive Committee, and of all Republicans, to speak in support of, and to act in the defense of, the long-established and fundamental principles of the Republican party as contained in the South Carolina Republican Party Platform; and; Whereas, when any official elected to any position as a Republican repeatedly acts in contravention of these principles, it is the duty of all South Carolina Republicans, including this body, to protect and defend these principles by stating publicly its disapproval of that official’s actions, especially where the matters involved are fundamental and not...

The radio host says she's for Carr: Nationally syndicated conservative talk radio show host Laura Ingraham today announced that she was "all in for Joe Carr" in his campaign to defeat Tennessee incumbent Senator Lamar Alexander. “Lamar Alexander, the August primary is coming up, Joe Carr is his challenger. I’m all in for Joe Carr," Ingraham said on her show today. "I think he’s, look, he’s no nonsense, a citizen legislator he’ll be and he’ll be someone who will actually listen to the people, politicians at some point do have to listen to the concerns of the people, not just...

It wasn’t a friendly meeting between Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) and businessman David Perdue on Sunday evening as they faced off in the only debate of the Georgia GOP Senate runoff. Both used the lone opportunity ahead of next Tuesday’s vote to wage personal attacks against their opponent. Kingston targeted Perdue, a former Fortune 500 CEO, as an out of touch businessman only concerned with his own profit. Perdue fired back, accusing the congressman of being a "career politician" who has accomplished little in his 11 terms in office. Hosted by the Atlanta Press Club and televised on Georgia Public...

Louisiana state Rep. Paul Hollis (R) dropped out of the Louisiana Senate race Monday. "After prayer and thoughtful consideration, I have decided to withdraw from the U.S. Senate race in Louisiana," Hollis said in a statement. "I am thankful for the outpouring of support from voters throughout the state and truly appreciate the tireless efforts of our campaign's staff and volunteers." The businessman had framed himself as a conservative alternative to Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the GOP establishment pick to take on Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) in the race. But that title was already largely secured by retired Air Force...

COLUMBIA — Reality TV-star and former S.C. Treasurer Thomas Ravenel filed his petition to run for U.S. Senate as an independent. Ravenel, of Charleston, submitted 16,469 signatures to the S.C. Election Commission on Monday. He needs 10,000 certified signatures to make the ballot. The certification process will take about a month, an election official said. If certified, Ravenel will face U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-Seneca, S.C. Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, and Columbia Libertarian Victor Kocher in November’s general election. Ravenel recently was the star of Southern Charm, a Bravo reality-television show filmed in Charleston. The former state treasurer left office...

More voters than ever now say U.S. elections are rigged to favor incumbents and are unfair to voters. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 48% of Likely U.S. Voters now say American elections are not fair to voters, up from 46% in April and the highest finding in surveys since 2004. Thirty-nine percent (39%) think elections are fair, but 14% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.) (Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook. The survey...

For years, the discussion of immigration reform has been about legalizing the young man working on your roof or the young woman who cleans your home. It was based on a lot of emotion and goodwill. It is the reason that so many people favored some kind of legalization in public opinion polls. For the record, I've favored a modest immigration plan that puts some people on a path to legalization not citizenship. Plus, a plan to give some kids raised here a chance to stay here. The "kids on the border" crisis, and it is a crisis, has turned...

The Republican establishment beat back most challenges from its movement right in this year's primaries, including a play to fill the House majority leader slot. Some business interests and entrenched congressional politicians argue the party's right wing is in retreat. Not so. Many of the more establishment Republicans who prevailed in primaries had moved decidedly to the right. The Republican agenda on Capitol Hill largely is framed by the most conservative of the conservatives. Urgent: Who Is Your Choice for the GOP's 2016 Nominee? "The movement right is as strong as ever," says Michael Needham, chief executive officer of Heritage...

The Hill reports that using immigration reform as a 2014 campaign issue has become a dead end for Democrats, who are avoiding the subject as they run for Congress. Part of the problem for Democrats is that the very group most vitally interested in the issue, the Latino population, will likely have little impact on the specific races that are critical, with the exception of Mark Udall’s senatorial race in Colorado. The group most likely to swing the various elections, according to The Hill, is white working-class voters, who are more interested in the plunge in wages that has resulted...

Webb, who is also a comedian and retired musician, wasn’t about to miss his opportunity to say whatever he wanted to a sitting president. So, after he had introduced himself and the president was signing a reportedly $300 bill, he slammed his hand on the counter. “Equal rights for gay people!” he exclaimed. Obama reacted without missing a beat. “Are you gay?” Taken aback by the directness of the question, he said, Webb responded, “Only when I’m having sex!” The president laughed, then, realizing there was a group of children near the two, said, “Not in front of the kids!”...

The heroes and zeroes of the presidential elections I've voted in. Heroes: Reagan, Bush Sr, Dole, Bush Jr, McCain, Romney Zeroes: Carter, Mondale, Dukakis, Clinton, Gore, Kerry, Obama The pattern is obvious! Hoping and praying that it goes republican in 2016. I've not just voted for but campaigned for every hero on the entire list!